Wednesday, 7th May 2014 Traditional Mallorcan Fairs
One of my favourite things about living in Mallorca is the interest in keeping many of the local traditions, one of which is the annual village fair. Almost every village or town on the Island has their annual fair and these are shared between spring and autumn months and are very important events in the calender of a village. Many date back several hundred years and it is a fantastic way to meet up with the extended family and neighbours whilst purchasing or admiring local produce and livestock.
The largest fair on the Island is held in Inca and is called Dijou Bo. It is held on the third Thursday in November whilst almost all the other fairs across Mallorca are held on a Sunday. Preparations commence several days in advance whilst the animal pens, tables, beautiful displays, special parking areas are set up and roads closed off. The towns or villages are giving a `spring clean´ so they look their best for all the visitors that they expect to receive and many of the local restaurants prepare a special `menu de feria´- a set menu using local produce.
In the larger towns a huge variety of local produce are on offer, basically you can admire or purchase anything from a brand new car, motorbike, racing bike, tractor, swimming pool, double glazing to a bag of olives, sweets, almonds, plants or flowers.
The area of the fair which usually receives the most visitors, especially families with young children, is the display of livestock. Here we see a variety of birds of prey, chickens, dogs, canaries, pigs with newly born piglets, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and sometimes bulls or even an ostrich! The squeels from the protective pigs as the new borns are picked up by the children can be heard across the town!
During the ferias you are promised the chance to sample a huge variety of local foods, olives, cheese, figs, almonds, olive oil, pastries, sobrasada, quely biscuits and your senses will be bombarded by the sounds of families having fun, music, people chatting excitedely and lots and lots of wonderful colours.
Some dates for the diary are the Pollensa Fair which is held the Second Sunday in November, Sineu Fair which is held on the first Sunday in May and the next `big one´is the Capdeperra Medieval Fair which is held over 3 days and has lots of fun and entertainment to enjoy along with the vast displays of produce. It will be held over the 16th 17th and 18th May this year and I personally have already booked a hotel room in the village so I can enjoy it to the full! Maybe I will see you there.
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